


Royals [Skephalo/Dreamnotfound au]

by Pr0cras



Category: mcyt
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Creeper, Emotional Manipulation, Fluff, L'Manberg | L'Manburg on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), M/M, No Smut, awwwww mann, idk how to tag man, ig
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:49:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29644638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pr0cras/pseuds/Pr0cras
Summary: Every year the three kingdoms come together, to celebrate their peace. This year, because of the rising threat of Technoblade, only the princes form the other kingdoms can travel to L'manburg for a celebration. This should be interesting.I'm really bad at summaries, but hey give this a try anyway! Also posted on Wattpad under the same name.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Zak Ahmed/Darryl Noveschosch
Comments: 12
Kudos: 54





	1. Chapter 1

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨! 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬. 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐤. 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭, 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲. 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐁𝐲𝐞!

Also, this story contains:

Cursing,

violence,

screaming,

manipulation,

and weapons

If any of these things could hurt/trigger you, proceed with caution.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Tommy** _

"TOMMY!!" The boy in question jumped at his name, having been reading in his room. He ran down the castle steps to see his dad, writing with a quill.

"Wow, writing to your mistress right in front of your son. Bold move dad" Tommy grinned.

Wilbur looked up from his scroll, sighing at his son's antics. Tommy knew what was coming up, he knew that his dad was writing the 2 neighboring kingdoms to invite them to stay for the anniversary of their great peace or whatever.

"George says that you keep running off. This is the sixth time this month he's reported to me. Stay with your guard Tommy." Wilbur pointed to the side, at a knight with goggles. Headware wasn't really permitted other than helmets, but George was colorblind, so there was an exception made.

"GOGY! MY BRO! MY MAN! HOW YOU DOING BIG G" George looked unamused. Tommy slung his arm over George's shoulder, even though the guard was significantly shorter than him. "Won't happen again Big Man" Tommy promised, even though they all very well knew it would probably happen again before the week was finished.

Tommy moved to his dad and looked over his shoulder, reading the first one he saw. He skimmed over it until he saw a name he recognized. "Skeppy, that's the guy who's screwing his guard, right?"

Wilbur looked over at Tommy, aghast. "Tommy! I thought I told you not to listen to rumors. I know both Skeppy and Bad personally, and they are lovely and virtuous people!" There were many rumors surrounding Skeppy, as he was exceptionally close with his personal guard, Badboyhalo. Some said that Bad was trying to steal the crown, or murder Skeppy. About half of Skeppy's kingdom assumed they were going to get married once Skeppy became king, even though the idea was quite unorthodox.

Tommy looked over at the second letter, reading that one. "Why are only the princes coming?" he questioned.

"What with all this Technoblade drama, the people need their kings and queens to keep up morale, and so they still feel protected."

"Ok Big Man. I'm gonna go out to the garden now" Tommy started speed walking, hoping to get away as quickly as possible. He heard his dad shout at his back.

"And take George with you!"


	3. Chapter 3

_**Bad** _

"Skeppy, you can't pack only pajamas," The man across from Skeppy said, sighing as he folded clothes and put them into the chest, "There's definitely gonna be a ball or some fancy event going on. Not to mention you can't just walk around nightshirts!"

Skeppy grinned "C'mon Bad, I'll just wear my pjs to dance!" Bad had to hold back a laugh at the image of Skeppy dancing with some poor lady, in only his sleeping clothes.

"No. Now pack some shirts, I gotta go sharpen my knives" Bad walked down the hall, ignoring Skeppy's yells of disagreement directed at his back.

\--

Bad walked down the hall, waving at the knights he saw. As the personal guard for one of the royals -especially one like Skeppy who got in trouble with every person in the castle- pretty much everyone knew him. He walked down to the armory, grabbing a bag full of his personal throwing knives and walking over to a grindstone.

He picked out the knife Skeppy gave him two years ago, when Bad became his personal guard. The knife was of great quality, practically indestructible, with an added flair of blue diamonds and sapphires studded into the hilt. Bad had flipped out when he had received it, because blue diamonds were incredibly rare in their kingdom, as well as in the kingdoms they traded with.

As Bad sharpened his knife, he thought about how he had gotten to where he was. He had lived in the castle all his life, because his mom worked in the kitchens. Since he was little, he's always wanted to be a knight, to save people. He had trained in all his free time for years, before he finally become an official guard. Bad specialized in throwing knives, as the idea of killing someone in close combat made him feel icky afterwards. After a while of personally training Skeppy, Bad became his personal guard. They were best friends now.

Despite what most rumors said, Skeppy and he weren't romantically involved. Skeppy had to have it drilled into his head to marry a pretty lady that would produce heirs by now, and trying to court a prince wasn't really allowed and would surely lose Bad his place as Skeppy's personal guard. Plus, Skeppy and Bad were just good friends.

\--

Once he was done sharpening the rest of his knives and slotting them into his belt, Bad grabbed his three main sheaths and started back to Skeppy's room. After knocking and receiving a grunt of affirmation in return, he walked into the room.

Bad walked in, tossing two of his knife sheaths onto the bed and starting to tie the smallest around his bicep. "Hey Geppy. You done packing?" Skeppy nodded over to the chests, pulling a loose shirt over his head and tying the strings up. Bad blushed a bit as Skeppy pulled the shirt on. "I could've waited outside while you changed, you know."

Skeppy wiggled his eyebrows and snickered "Why, you like this?" He posed dramatically and Bad sighed.

"Whatever Skeppy. Have you finished packing yet? And more then nightclothes" Bad strapped his other sheaths on either thighs, putting twin knives in them. He walked over to Skeppy's chests, checking to make sure they were actually packed to travel.

Once he had confirmed the contents of the chest, Bad sat on the bed and took the knife out of the sheathe on his bicep, looking over it. He dragged his fingers over the expensive stones, turning to Skeppy. "You sure ya wanna go Geppy?" Bad worried "You need to stay safe"

"I'm fine Bad. I've got a whole guard to travel with, and when I get there their guards will protect me. L'manburg is strong." Skeppy put his hand on Bad's shoulder to comfort him. "Plus, I've got you, and that's really all I need.


	4. Chapter 4

𝗜𝘁❜𝘀 𝗱𝘂𝗺𝗯 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰. 𝗪𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀.

\---

𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘆

Tommy ran to his room, grabbing a pouch he had previously set on his bedside table, and ran out of the castle, his movements sneaky and somewhat randomized, hoping George wouldn't find him.

As Tommy ran through the woods, he got excited. It felt like forever since Tommy had seen him, even though it couldn't have been more than a few days. As Tommy ran into the clearing, something crashed into him.

"TOMMY!!" Tubbo screamed, smiling wide and squeezing Tommy as tight as possible.

"Hey Tubbo!" Tommy grinned in spite of himself. "I couldn't find much, but here," Tommy pulled out his pouch, and a beautiful yellow ribbon from it. Tubbo smiled wider, sticking his arm out for Tommy to tie the ribbon onto. Afterwards, Tubbo pulled out a bottle of honey, passing it over to Tommy.

Over the years, an unspoken tradition had started. Each of them gave gifts to the other every time they met up. It could range from a pretty flower Tommy had thought Tubbo would appreciate, to a quilt depicting their clearing for that Tubbo had spent months on for Tommy. Tommy could just give Tubbo heaps of gold, but it seemed to mean more to give each other little trinkets to show their affection. Often, Tubbo gave Tommy glass bottles of honey from his bees.

Tommy had kept and re-purposed nearly every single one of the bottles that contained the honey Tubbo gave him. Some of them had minuscule little gardens in them, with moss and tiny flowers. A handful of them housed magic fireflies, and had been tied together and hung up to light Tommy's room and all around their clearing.

At first Tommy had felt guilty, because glass bottles couldn't be cheap for Tubbo's family, being bakers. Tommy made sure to get things from there as often as possible, as a way of paying Tubbo back. Tubbo's home was called the Bee Bakery, though that wasn't its actual name. Everyone called it that because they had so many amazing baked goods with honey, as the honey from Tubbo's bees was the best to be found in the kingdom. 

Tubbo looked around a bit nervously, "You wanna go to the bakery Tommy? We really shouldn't be out"

Tommy rolled his eyes "We're fine Tubbo, it's not as if Techno is gonna jump out of that bush." But as he said this he started walking out of the forest, one hand grabbing Tubbo's and the other hovering over his knife. 

Tubbo ranted about bees while Tommy scoped out the surrounding brush for danger. It was dumb that he had to look at every bush and tree, but Technoblade had killed a bunch of villagers and nobles, so skilled at manslaughter that he was only blamed because he made sure everyone knew it was him.

Once they got to Tubbo's, Tommy finally let his guard down, Grabbing a honey-cake and following Tubbo up to his room.

Tubbo got some string and started on a friendship bracelet. Despite Tommy constantly saying it was dumb to make bracelets, his wrists were covered with more than a dozen of them, varying in size. Tommy had also made almost as many as Tubbo, with less skill and organization, but they covered Tubbo's arms nonetheless as he showed them off proudly. 

Tommy leaned against Tubbo's side, ranting about how his dad was being secretive and annoying about the whole Technoblade thing, in an attempt to 'keep him safe'. Tubbo nodded along, handing Tommy some string. Tommy started a bracelet, and immediately messed it up with knots, but kept going stubbornly. He told Tubbo about the princes arrival soon, and promised he would sneak him into the castle to meet them. Tubbo was welcome in the castle, but Tommy insisted on sneaking him in anyways. 

By the time Tommy started to walk home both of them had a new bracelet, Tubbo's slightly messed up in a red and yellow stripe pattern, and Tommy's in a cool pattern that formed little bees. 

Tommy sneaked back to his room, hoping not to get caught. Just as he opened the door to his room, he heard a voice. 

"Tommy" The boy in question spun on his heel and flashed a slightly nervous grin to his personal guard.

"Sup Gogy!" George sighed and rubbed the spot between his eyes, pushing his glasses up a bit.

"Why is it whenever I turn around, you are nowhere to be found?"

"Sorry Big Man! I'm just gonna go down to dinner now, and not get in trouble again." He winked at George, sprinting to the dining room. George groaned, chasing after him. This kid was going to be the death of him.

\--

Tommy ran into the dining room, seeing Fundy already at the table, reading some kind of book. Fundy was the oldest, but Tommy was the heir to the throne, as Fundy wanted to work on engineering for the kingdom. He was brilliant, but he said his skill set was better for inventing and advising, so Tommy was proclaimed heir. 

Fundy looks up from his book for a moment before turning back to his book "Mom's not gonna be happy you came to dinner looking like that"

Tommy just scoffed and sat down. Niki walked into the room, sitting down across from tommy and next to Fundy. "Tommy! Your clothes are filthy, what did I say about cleaning up before dinner?"

"To do it" Tommy sighed, looking around for an excuse. "I was just training with George, right Gogy?" Niki looked over to George, who nodded in affirmation. Sure George told on him, but he only did it so that his parents would know what was going on. If it wasn't necessary, George let him get away with running off. Tommy was just a kid after all.

Niki sighed, but let tommy off the hook as Wilbur walked in, sitting at the head of the table next to Tommy and Niki. He gave Niki a kiss on the cheek, and she smiled in response.

"Ew. Your children are right here." Tommy fake gagged, scrunching up his nose.

Just then the servers walked in with the food, and then out. Wilbur's personal guard, Eret, and George stood by the wall, observing. 

"The princes should be here by the day after tomorrow, about noon. Niki, I assume you'll set up a lunch?" Niki nodded at her husbands comment, smiling. "Lovely. Tommy, you better clean yourself up and make a good impression. I swear to god if you're out in the woods when the princes get here I'll kill you with my own bare hands. George, lock him in his room if you must" George nodded, a small smirk on his face. Tommy just rolled his eyes dramatically.

"So what's the deal with The Blade?" Tommy asked, shoveling potatoes into his mouth. 

Wilbur sighed "Tommy, there is nothing new that concerns you" 

Tommy looked over to the side in frustration, "Eret, you know whats going on, share please" Eret just shook his head and looked nervously down to his hands at the mention of Technoblade, fiddling with his hands and his armor. Tommy pushed his char back, standing up. "Well I'm gonna go to bed" He walked out, with George following him and his mom frowning at his back.


	5. Chapter 5

𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦

Dream looked out of the window of the slightly bumpy carriage, trying to get a good enough scene to sketch out. The scenery along the way to L'manburg was truly beautiful, with trees and lakes everywhere. As Dream got out charcoal and some parchment, his personal guard Sapnap woke up. All rulers by blood, as well as heirs, had personal guards. Sapnap was a dick, for sure, but Dream loved him like a brother anyways. 

Sapnap laid across the seat parallel to the one Dream was currently on, closing his eyes and relaxing again. "What are you doing Dre?"

"Drawing, idiot."

"No need to be rude Dream," Sapnap rolled his eyes. "What are you drawing?" Sapnap leaned over to Dream, as the prince in question shoved him away.

"Your mom. Leave me alone Sappitus Nappitus" Sapnap groaned dramatically, and flopped down onto Dream's lap, mock-snoring obnoxiously. Dream poked his head out the window, asking a guard on horseback how much longer it would take.

"We'll arrive at noon, sir" Dream nodded and thanked the guard, pulling his head back in the carriage. Sapnap had fallen asleep in his lap, snoring loudly. Dream sighed, looking out to see the sun that had just risen. This would be a long ride.

\---

𝐁𝐚𝐝

"I spy..." Skeppy dragged the vowel out, looking out the window to find something that would work for the game. He turned back to Bad. "Something green." Skeppy grinned as Bad sighed.

"Skeppy, we are literally surrounded by trees, you can't just say green."

"Then just guess trees Bad"

"Fine. Is it a tree?"

Skeppy smirked at Bad. "Nope."

"SKEPPY YOU CAN'T JUST SAY GREEN THERE ARE MILLIONS OF GREEN THINGS OUTSIDE THIS CARRIAGE!!"

"But my object was your pretty eyes!" Skeppy smiled and jokingly fluttered his eyelashes at Bad, knowing he would get away with it.

Bad's face flushed. "Aww, thanks Geppy!" He hugged Skeppy, grinning and flustered at the compliment. 

After that, they stopped playing the game, and Skeppy poked Bad and pointed to his knife belt. Bad nodded in understanding, pulling his belt of throwing knives off, and placing it on the seat across from him. Skeppy curled up by Bad's right side to fall asleep, and Bad wraps his arms around the other, humming with content and smiling at the boy in his arms. 

After a little while, Bad shifted Skeppy so that the sleeping boy was laying mostly on top of his chest, and leaned against the side of the carriage. Bad used one hand to pull back the curtain near his head, and stuck his hand in and snapped to get the attention of the guard outside. The guard brought his horse closer and poked his head through the window.

"Yes sir?"

Bad made a shushing noise at the guard, pointing to the sleeping boy in his arms. "I'm going to take a nap," He whispered "And I'm going to take most of my knives off to make him more comfortable, so be careful and wake me up immediately of there is a threat, clear?"

"Yes sir" The knight smiles at Bad. The young man is clearly in love with the prince, everyone who knows them knows it, even if both of the boys are clueless to their feelings.

Bad nods at the guard, turning back to Skeppy and shifting him a bit, trying to get him to move off of the knife sheaths on Bad's thighs. After Bad had unlatched both of the sheaths, he put them on the floor, hoping his reaction time would be quick enough to grab them should the carriage be attacked.

After a little while Bad fell asleep, curled up on the cushioned seat of the carriage with Skeppy in his arms.

\---

𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐲

Tommy sighed dramatically as him mom ran around, setting up for tea with the princes at noon. After a while, Tommy snuck back to his room, George following close behind. 

"Soooooo.....can I go to the woods real quick?" George sighs at Tommy's hopeful smile.

"No Tommy. Your parents would have my head if you ran off."

"Oh c'mon Gogy, we have like 3 hours until they get here, and I'll be quick. Promise" George looked at Tommy's dramatic pout, and slowly felt himself crack.

"Fine. But I'm coming with you." Tommy opened his mouth to argue, but realized this was the best answer he would get. He walked out of his room, George in tow. They walked out and snuck to Tommy and Tubbo's clearing, to see if Tubbo was there. 

Tubbo was indeed there, talking to a bee that had perched on his finger. Tommy's face immediately lit up upon seeing him, and rushed over to give him a hug. Tubbo grinned back upon seeing him, standing up and hugging Tommy tightly. George turned his back to them, scanning the area for threats and trying to give the two friends some privacy.

Tommy rolled his eyes as Tubbo continued to hug him, "God Tubbo, you're so clingy." But he was smiling widely, and hugging the shorter boy just as tightly.

Tubbo pulled back, and held up a bouquet of bright flowers he had collected. Tommy grabbed it from his hands, and handed Tubbo a book in return. It was a book on science that Fundy had said Tommy could have, though he was a bit confused as to why Tommy wanted it. 

Tubbo's eyes lit up, Tommy knew that Tubbo loved books on science and whatnot, even though Tommy couldnt care less about the contents of the books. He just liked the look of elation on Tubbo's face when he received one. 

"I don't have long out here, would your parents be fine if I took you to the castle for the day to hang out?" Tubbo nodded in response, grabbing hold of Tommy's hand and starting in the direction Tommy came from. 

They walked back to the castle, George in the lead as Tommy and Tubbo talked behind him, hand in hand. Tubbo skipped, but Tommy was so much taller that he could keep pace easily just by walking.

Once they got to the castle, Tommy and Tubbo ran up to Tommy's room, and George stood outside. Tubbo faced Tommy, taking the bouquet from his hand and starting to put the small flowers in his hair. Tommy simply let this happen, grabbing a quill and doodling a bee in his friend's ankle. 

They talked about random stuff, unimportant things that meant nothing. But at the same time they meant the world, simply because the two were saying those things to each other. After a while, George stepped into Tommy's room. 

"The princes have both arrived, it's time for tea."


	6. Chapter 6

𝐁𝐚𝐝

Bad woke up to loud knocking on the carriage door, immediately wrapping his arms tighter around Skeppy and pulling the knife out of the sheath on his bicep.

"We've arrived sir" Bad sighed in relief, loosening his protective grip on the boy in his arms and putting his knife back in it's sheath. Skeppy, oblivious to his surroundings, just snuggled further into Bad's chest. A blush danced across Bad's face as he shook Skeppy lightly.

"Skeppy. Skeppy wake up. Skeppy we're here."

Skeppy simply shifted so that his face was buried into Bad's neck, mumbling something into his collarbone. 

Bad's face flushed, and he shook his friend again. 

Skeppy finally woke up, but he just groaned "Five more minutes" and went back to snuggling up against Bad. Bad huffed, picking Skeppy up bridal style. Skeppy was maybe two inches shorter than him, and similar in build. Luckily, Bad was stronger than he looked. Bad kicked the door open, awkwardly maneuvering out of it with a bit of difficulty. 

The head of the group of guards escorting them raised his eyebrows at Bad carrying Skeppy out of the carriage.

"There's no way we're getting him up. I don't think he slept much last night" Bad sighed, looking at the man in his arms. "Well then. Lets go. And someone grab my knives"

\--

Once he reached the entrance of the castle, Bad smiled sheepishly at Queen Niki. "Sorry Your Majesty, he wouldn't get up."

"It's perfectly fine Sir Bad. Prince Dream should arrive in about an hour. If Prince Skeppy doesn't feel up to having tea, he is welcome to rest instead."

"Just Bad is fine, M'lady. And I'm sure he'll be fine by then. Right Skeppy?" Bad nudged Skeppy, who just nuzzled his neck. Bad went bright red at this, and the guards from The Invaded Lands (Skeppy's kingdom) that surrounded them tried to hide their grins.

Niki tilted her head to the side, "I'm sorry, I prepared two different rooms for you two. Should I have prepared one?" She looked around for a maid.

At this Bad's face was flushed a worrying shade of bright red. He shook his head at her "No, that- that won't be necessary Your Majesty. Two rooms."

The knights were trying very hard to laugh at this point, a few of them fake-coughing to mask giggles.

"Right this way, I'll show you to your rooms"

Bad nodded, his face still red.

\--

Bad set Skeppy down on the bed, and started un-packing his and Skeppy's stuff in their respective drawers. Once he finished, he asked a guard how long it would be until they were expected for tea. The guard said it would be about a half an hour, and Bad thanked him and went back inside.

He sat beside Skeppy, humming to himself. Both of them were still in traveling clothes, but Bad figured that he had a quarter of an hour until they had to get ready.

The brunet took off his glasses and laid next to Skeppy, the smaller boy immediately curling up to him. Bad laughed quietly, snuggling against his friend.

\---

𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦

Dream groaned as he stretched, happy to finally be out of the carriage. Sapnap yawned, having slept the entirety of the ride.

Striding up to the castle entrance, Dream made sure his clothes were orderly and Sapnap was behind him. 

"Prince Dream! Welcome!" Niki smiled at him, and he kissed her hand in greeting. 

"Queen Niki, it's been too long." Dream smiled at her, and she smiled warmly back.

"We are scheduled to have tea in a quarter of an hour, if that is enough time to clean yourselves up?"

"That is perfect, Your Majesty."

"Lovely, I'll have a guard show you around the castle for a quick tour and then to your rooms"

\---

𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐲

Tommy walked down the stairs, pulling at his white button down shirt. Tubbo was next to Tommy, trying to fix the button he had somehow messed up while putting on his borrowed green button down. They got to the garden, and Niki immediately came over and fussed over Tommy despite the fact that he had tried to clean up. Tommy pushed her hands away and turned to Tubbo to help him with the too-long shirt.

He looked up as a guard walked in, followed by a tall man in green. The man in green smiled and shook Wilbur's hand, greeting him before turning to Niki and greeting her as well.

After a few minutes passed, two more men walked in, one with dark poofy hair and the other with bright green eyes. They walked over and the one with the poofy hair shook Wilbur's hand and kissed Niki's hand, saying something that Tommy was too far away to hear. The one with green eyes bowed, smiling brightly.

Everyone started walking around, talking to each other. Tommy tried to walk to a corner to hang with Tubbo, but Wilbur caught his eyes and glared at him until he walked over to fluffy-hair man and his guard. Tommy noticed they were holding hands, and fluffy-hair man had his head rested on his guard's shoulder.

The guard bowed and smiled at him. "Heyo! I'm Bad"

Tommy nodded at him. "Hello, I'm Tommy. Why does he look like he is sleepwalking?"

Bad nudged fluffy-hair man. "He's just sleepy. Skeppy be polite and introduce yourself."

Skeppy groaned and pouted, holding out his hand grudgingly. "I'm Skeppy. And I'm tired. Begone child." He then wrapped his arms around Bad so he was hugging his side, and buried his face in Bad's neck.

Bad looked at Tommy, his face flushed from embarrassment. "I'm so sorry Tommy, he's usually a lot nicer than this. I think he's still grumpy I woke him up." Bad then whispered something in Skeppy's ear, and they walked away.

Tommy turned to Tubbo. "Well they were weird. Lets avoid them and get some snacks"

\---

𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦

Dream walked around, Sapnap trailing him. He saw two kids running about, getting their shirts dirty, but having fun. They pointed sticks at each other, and had a mock duel before the taller of the two spotted Dream. He ran over, sticking his hand out to shake.

"'Ello, I'm Tommy, this is Tubbo" The shorter boy waved his hand once his name was stated, eating a teacake.

"Dream" Dream was a bit overwhelmed by Tommy's energy after talking civilly to his parents, so he didn't say anything but his name as a greeting.

"D'you know how to fight? Me and Tubbo were fighting, but he died." Tubbo nodded in confirmation that he was, in fact, dead.

"Sure kid. Sapnap, stop eating and come over here."

"Okay Dreamy. Are you seeing Bad and Skeppy right now? They need to stop eye-fucking and make out already"

Dream looked over to Skeppy and Bad, who were laying on a picnic blanket and looking at clouds as they talked. Bad had one arm behind Skeppy's neck, so they were snuggled together like a couple.

Sapnap scoffed "God, they act like they're all alone"

"I think its kind of sweet how they look at each other like there is no one else in the world" Dream smiled at the two. Tommy cleared his throat, and Dream looked back at him.

"Gogy, what is eye-fucking" Tommy's guard spat out his drink, his eyes going wide. Dream held in a laugh. This poor guard.

"Umm...It's like when you really fucking hate someones eyes." Tommy nodded, accepting the answer, and then handed a stick to Dream. 

"Okay. Fight me big man."

\---

𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞

George watched Tommy and Dream fight. He was a bit worried Dream would hurt Tommy, as Dream had a reputation of being one of the best fighters throughout the kingdoms. But the man was careful to not hit Tommy too hard.

"I'm Sapnap" Dreams guard held out his hand. He had a white band wrapped around his forehead, which looked a bit particular to George.

"George" George shook Sapnap's hand, turning back to the fight between Tommy and Dream.

"Your boy's fine. Dream wouldn't hurt a kid." George nodded, but continued to watch. The match seemed to be coming to an end, with Tommy falling dramatically to the ground as he 'died'.

"Y'know, you need to loosen up. You'd be really cute if you weren't always scowling" George flushed at this, pushing his goggles onto his face like it would help him avoid this conversation.

"Stop bothering the poor guard Sapnap." Dream turned to George, "I'm sorry, he's a dick." Sapnap spluttered his disagreements, and George let out a small laugh.

The three continued to talk as Tommy and Tubbo climbed trees and ran around. George had expected Dream to be a bit of a snob, as he was so famous for his fighting skill. George could tell he liked these two, even though Sapnap was somewhat of an unorthodox guard, and Dream was a bit of a cocky bastard sometimes.


	7. Chapter 7

𝐁𝐚𝐝

Bad rolled out of bed, wiping his eyes and squinting into the darkness. Why the heck was someone knocking on his door in the middle of the night?

He went to open the door, crookedly putting his classes on and grabbing a knife just in case.

"Geppy? C'mon in." Bad opened the door wider upon seeing his friend, knowing Skeppy wanted to sleep with him for whatever reason. The guard outside Skeppy's door, which was next to Bad's, was looking at them with wide confused eyes. Bad was to tired to care about the gossip, leading an equally exhausted Skeppy into his room. Bad took off his glasses and put them and his knife on the bedside table, flopping into bed. Skeppy flopped down too, falling asleep quickly.

\---

𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦

Dream and Sapnap walked through the castle, taking directions from a guard. They had nothing planned today except dinner, so Tommy had insisted upon learning fighting tactics or whatever, and damn it all if Dream was going to deal with the kid without Skeppy and Bad. Tommy wasn't all that bad, but he was...a lot. Dream didn't mind his guard though.

Dream knocked on Skeppy's door, waiting for a response. Assuming he was still asleep, he slammed his fist harder on the door, trying to make it loud enough for Skeppy to hear it and wake up. It worked, but Skeppy poked his head out of the wrong door.

Dream turned around to see Skeppy rubbing his eyes, half dressed and dazed. In Bad's doorway. Sapnap starts dying of laughter, and Dream begins to wheeze.

Skeppy flushed and rolled his eyes, turning his head back inside. "Bad, can you c'mere? Dream wants us for something."

Bad's response came through, muffled a bit, "One sec Skeppy, I gotta find my pants." At this Sapnap and Dream are on the floor crying in laughter.

Bad walks out, looking at Dream and Sapnap. "Are y'all okay?"

"They're fine" Skeppy glares at the two outside the door, and they mutter agreements and compose themselves.

Dream steps forwards, "If y'all want to, get dressed and come to the training room. Tommy wants to train with us."

Bad smiled, "'Corse!"

Bad walked inside, closing the door. Skeppy stuck his middle finger at Sapnap, who was making kissy faces at him, and walked to his own room to change, face flushed.

\--

Dream arrived at the training room, a big circular room with a packed dirt floor and some standing room on the outside for if anyone wanted to watch. It looked basically like a less fancy gladiator ring, with targets and dummies scattered about. In a room that came off of the circle there were an assortment of iron tools as well as bows. That was where Dream saw Tommy and his friend, and his guard George.

He walked over to them and started up conversation with George. The guard had minimal armor on, and was small and lithe. He was probably chosen to be a guard for speed and agility, rather then brute strength. He had strange goggles, currently perched at the top of his head, and was exceptionally cute. That was perhaps the reason Dream was dead set on making his face flush.

Tommy and Tubbo were a few feet away from Dream and George, talking to Sapnap as they looked at weapons. They called him over, and Dream winked at George before striding over. 

"Okay, once Bad and Skeppy get here, we should split up. We all have really different skill sets, so this should be interesting."

They nodded at Dream, Tubbo speaking up, eyes bright, "Can I learn ranged fighting? I wanna shoot a bow!"

George stepped forwards, "I'm good with a bow. C'mon Tubbo." Tubbo smiled, following him.

Dream sighed theatrically and leaned on Sapnap, "Hate to see George leave, but love to watch him go"

Sapnap burst out laughing, and George turned around to face them, his face flushed "I heard that y'know!"

Dream smirked and called back, "You were meant to!"

\---

𝐁𝐚𝐝

Skeppy and Bad walked in, Bad observing what was going on. George was by the targets with Tubbo, teaching him to shoot a bow. Sapnap Dream and Tommy were grabbing weapons. Bad was good with observations, and knew everyones weapon of choice rather well. 

Sapnap was a brute strength kind of guy, and would grab a hefty axe, one that would deal a lot of damage in one hit but be slower to attack. His fighting style was composed of large swings, going for piercing someones skin rather then slashing at them. A heavy weapon like he preferred would be good for a few, strong, deadly blows, not as much slashing.

George, if he had to pick a close combat weapon, would chose a thin sharp sword. One that let him move quickly, slashing rather then jabbing his weapon into the enemy like Sapnap. He was small and quick, making it easy to slash and dodge, until the enemy was beaten. He preferred a bow though, having incredible aim. He was small enough to hide from far away, and then shoot and run.

Dream could fight with many weapons, but if you had to pick one to label him for being great at, a thin axe was the way to go. His fighting style was known for being unpredictable, consisting of slashing, stabbing and a surprising amount of kicking. Dream was known across the kingdoms for his fighting skill, and could work well with most weapons. 

Skeppy was best with a standard sword, working quickly and attacking in short bursts, rarely thinking about strategy and defending himself. Once he focused on an enemy, he would make quick work of them and move on to the next thing. He would slash the enemy with his sword, rather then stabbing them. He had an insane amount of energy, and if you were his target, once he unleashed it you were a goner.

Bad himself was not a fan of close combat, but if he had to do it he would chose a thin axe or a sword, ending a fight as quickly and cleanly as possible. He much preferred ranged weapons though, specifically throwing knives. His aim was deadly and had pinpoint accuracy, never missing a mark. He was also good with a crossbow and a bow.

Bad hadn't ever really seen Tommy fight, but he could guess based on how the kid acted. He probably fought similarly to Skeppy, with the never ending energy he seemed to have. He would probably prefer a standard sword, and would fight with a somewhat crazed mix of slashing and stabbing. Based upon the knife sheath at his side, Bad guessed he fought this way with a knife as well. 

Bad walked over to the group, smiling at them. 

Dream waved at him,"Hey Bad! We were just talking about who Tommy wanted to train with first."

Bad nodded, looking at the weapons, "Okay! How much training do you have Tommy?"

Tommy rolled his eyes, "Practically none. I know basic stuff with a sword, and know how to use a knife. It's like my dad WANTS me to get murdered. Can't go anywhere past nine."

Bad wonders at this. It makes sense that Wilbur wouldn't want Tommy being too violent, he seems like the kid to stab someone as a joke. But with Technoblade around, Tommy should know how to fight well. "Well I think you should work with me or George at some point, to get better with ranged weapons. And probably with Skeppy as well, you seem like you would have similar fighting styles. Possibly with Dream, to get a wide variety of close combat skills."

Tommy nodded, "Makes sense. You wanna go Big S?"

Skeppy looked at Bad "What, are you trying to get rid of me Bad?!" He fake sniffled, pouting.

Bad's eyes widened, and he shook his head. "No! Aww don't be sad Skeppy! C'mon how about Dream works with Tommy right now, and we can work on throwing knives? How about that?" Skeppy's face brightened immediately, and he grabbed Bad's hand and skipped away. 

\---

𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦

Dream rolled his eyes as Skeppy walked away with Bad, and turned back to Tommy. He looked around, and grabbed two thin axes, handing one to Tommy "Well kid, lets practice!"


	8. Chapter 8

𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭❓ 𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐄𝐌 𝐏𝐄❓ 𝐒𝐌𝐏❓ 𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢❜𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲. 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲❜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲❗

\---

𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦

Dream removed the blade from Tommy's throat, pointing out some places he could improve. The kid was loud, but he listened when he needed to and seemed to take Dream's advice, and was improving quickly.

"Take a break kid, I'll grab someone else to train with you."

Dream looked around, his eyes first going to Bad, who was trying to teach Skeppy how to throw knives. The attempt seemed futile though, Skeppy seeming to mess up on purpose. Dream understood why when Bad stood behind him, wrapping his arms around the prince in an attempt to fix his stance. Skeppy looked at Bad like he was an angel, and Dream could tell everything Bad said was going in one ear and out the other. 

Dream rolled his eyes and walked over to them, clearing his throat. They stepped apart, and Skeppy scowled at him while Bad smiled at him. 

"Skeppy you wanna go and work with Tommy?" Skeppy rolled his eyes but went over to go put some armor on to spar with Tommy. Dream nodded his head at George and Tubbo, and he and Bad walked over there. Tubbo seemed to be improving quickly, usually hitting in the yellow, and always getting within the center two colors each time.

"Hey Tubbo, you wanna work with Bad on crossbows and throwing knives?" Tubbo nodded, smiling at Bad as they went to grab weapons. 

"George, you wanna practice with me?" Dream fluttered his eyelashes dramatically, and George scoffed.

"Unless I'm miss informed about your skill, I'm sure I couldn't offer much assistance"

Dream pouted. "I'm no good with a bow," they stared at each other. George knew that Dream had no trouble with a bow, but sighed and started over to the weapons closet to find a bow Dream could work with. Dream grinned, following after him.

\---

𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐲/𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐢 (𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐬)

Tommy whined about having to get ready for dinner, because it was apparently a 'fancy' event that he had to 'get dressed for'. Tubbo was fine with it, getting dressed in borrowed clothing that was a little too big. As Tommy got all fancy, Tubbo ranted n about science and how it was developing.

"Imagine a weapon that fit in your palm, with a bolt smaller then a coin, that has the force of a huge crossbow. One that could shoot as far as a longbow, but had no string. all you have to do is pull a switch like with a crossbow. Something that you didn't have to pull back, you just flick the trigger and BAM, your enemy is fallen!"

Tommy grinned, the weapon Tubbo described was impossible and made no sense, but his energy was contagious. He decided to add on, "Oh oh! And once you shoot, you don't have to re-load! There are already half a dozen bolts in it!" Tubbo grinned wider at this, nodding at Tommy's addition to the imaginary weapon. 

Tubbo continued on about catapults until they walked into the dining room, where they sat and listened to the adults talk about politics and whatever. 

When Dream talked about how Tommy was a natural with fighting, and Skeppy readily agreed, Tommy grinned proudly. Fundy was always the better child, smarter and more into politics. Wilbur always said that Tommy's 'roughhousing' would do him no good, and Tommy wasn't always the most proper royal, to Nikki's dismay. Finally, he was good at something. 

He looked over to Wilbur for approval, but Wilbur simply gave a small frown, his face cold and uncaring. Tommy winced, sinking into his seat a bit.

Nikki, on the other hand, looked relieved, "I'm not surprised that he's a natural. And with all this Technoblade stuff going on, it's good he'll be able to defend himself. I don't know why we didn't teach him more stuff sooner, he'll need it." 

Wilbur looked at her, a small scowl on his face. "He has a guard for a reason, and George is more then capable. We don't need Tommy tripping and falling on his own sword when George can protect him"

Nikki glared at him, but didn't say anything. Nikki wasn't weak by any stretch of the imagination, she was simply cautious of her reputation and appearance. Growing up a princess hadn't taught her to fight with a sword, but with sweet words and fancy dresses. Arguing with her husband would make them seem weak and uncoordinated, and they couldn't afford that with Dream and Skeppy right there. Essempe and The Invaded Lands were very strong, and also L'manburg's closest allies.

\--

That night, Tommy went to bed frustrated. His dad would avoid giving him any information regarding Technoblade, and it was infuriating. If his dad wouldn't give him information, he would have to find it himself.

\---

𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞

George sighed as Tommy ran to Dream's door, following after him.

Tommy pounded on the wooden door, shifting from one foot to the other anxiously. After a while, a sleepy Dream answers the door, rubbing his eyes.

"What's up kid?" Dream's voice was gravely with sleep, and George felt his face flush. It was dumb, but it was there.

"Get dressed. Meet me in library." Tommy ran off after saying this, leaving an apologetic (and winded) George with Dream.

George sighed, and chased after him. This repeated when they got to Skeppy's room, except George was 99% sure that Bad was also in his bedroom. After this, Tommy dragged George to Tubbo's room and then the library. 

\---

𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦

After getting ready, Sapnap and Dream walked to the library, Dream holding paper and charcoal. If the kid was going to bother them, Dream might as well do something productive.

Once they got there, Dream saw the library for the first time. It was beautiful. It was made of mahogany, with gold and quartz trimming everything. There were thin spiral staircases leading up to a second and third rim of floor, and ladders scattered about to give better access to books. There were huge windows that let gold light sparkle through, giving all the books a mystical old aura, and drowning the whole room in light. There were comfortable navy chairs scattered about, surrounding tables. It was nearly empty, and it looked like something from a fairytale.

Sapnap nudged Dream forwards, walking over to Tommy. Dream followed, taking in the beauty of the library as he walked. It smelled like leather and rough paper, and Dream decided he could spend the rest of his life here and be content. 

As they reached the group and sat down, Dream observed their little gang. Himself, Sapnap, the two kids, and George. George.

George was reading, seeming to block out the rest of the world. The golden light from the window flitted across his skin, leaving it practically glowing. It surrounded his head like a halo, and made his eyes shimmer. He was focused on the book, but he looked relaxed and a small smile graced his face. His brown eyes glowed hazel in the light, specs of gold swimming through them. The air around him seemed to shimmer, making Dream deem everything else irrelevant. 

George looked up at a noise, and when he made eye-contact with Dream, Dream practically swooned. Dream would have given over his crown and conquered the entire world for George if he had asked in that moment.

The noise turned out to be Sapnap calling Dream's name in an attempt to get his attention. Sapnap called his name again, waving his hand in front of Dream's face. Dream snapped out of his daze at this, and Sapnap laughed at him.

Dream sat down, grabbing a large book from the desk and beginning to sketch on it as he half-listened to Tommy rant about King Wilbur. 

Soon Skeppy and Bad walked in, chatting.

Tommy waved them over, and once they sat down started talking, "Okay. I think my dad is avoiding this Technoblade thing too much, and we need to learn about this. I know that your kingdoms have practically no information either, Wilbur is dealing with this terribly. He's holing himself up and trying to solve this on his own, and I can't make him see that that won't work."

Dream nodded. He agreed with Tommy, they needed information. People in his kingdom were dying because Wilbur was being careless. 

"Okay, what can we go off of. I agree that something needs to be done, but if we have nothing to do, there isn't much point."

Tommy nodded, "Eret seems really nervous, and I keep seeing him sneak about the castle looking around like he's afraid he'll be caught. I think we should follow him, he seems suspicious."

George looks shocked, and shakes his head. "Are we gonna ignore the fact that this is, like, treason?! You are royalty, and if we do the wrong thing or find something we shouldn't have, we could start a war! And even if nothing that bad happens, if I get caught helping you sneak behind the king's back, I'll get fired or killed!"

Tommy shakes his head, "We won't get caught, and if we do, I'm sure you can make some excuse about me running off to cause trouble and you just had to find me."

George looked worried, "It's my job to be loyal to the crown, I can't just go against it"

Tommy looks at him. "Do you serve the crown, or do you serve the people. Citizens are dying George, and 'The Crown' isn't doing shit"

George's face turns to steel. "You're right. I'm loyal to the people, and I'm a knight because I'd die for the good of the kingdom, not just for the good of the King."

George leans into the table, his face dead set and a small grin gracing his lips, and Dream swears his heart stutters in his chest as George speaks.

"I'm in. What's the plan?"


	9. Chapter 9

𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞

Honestly, George doubted the reliability of the plan. It was a bit to late for that as he ran from tree to tree, hiding as he tailed Eret. 

George, Bad, and Dream all chased after Eret as he strode through the woods. They were the quickest and stealthiest, and also the best with ranged weapons, so they were the group that went to follow Eret.

Eret stopped in a small clearing, though it was perhaps more accurately classified as a space in between the trees.

George silently climbed a tree, perching on a branch that was high enough to give him a good view, but still low enough to be a quick climb down. He searched the trees, and after a while he spotted Bad perched in a tree, across from him. 

Bad grinned at him, and pointed his knife down in the direction of a bit of brush. George looked down, and saw Dream crouched in the brush, his green clothes helping to hide him. Dream looked up, and George followed his gaze to two figures that walked through the woods towards their little clearing. 

One of the people wore a brown hooded cloak that encased his body and hid his face, and the other wore an infamous extravagant red robe, and had long pink hair. Technoblade.

Techno had a red cloak, lined in gold and stained with dried blood. He had on a white shirt, which was surprisingly clean. He wore a crown, and jewelry adorned nearly every part of his body. Techno's hair was pulled back into a loose and messy braid that had a few smaller braids woven into it, along with what appeared to be little flecks of gold and rubies. Pinned upon his head was a thin crown of gold, with gems placed delicately into the twisted gold. He had black trousers, and sturdy brown boots. 

Techno stood like he owned the world, in a way that was somehow both cockily relaxed and deadly at the same time. The front half of a wild boar skull was tied around his face like a mask from a masquerade ball. He held a loaded crossbow in one hand, and a diamond sword was tied to his side, ready to be unsheathed at a seconds notice.

The cloaked person didn't take their hood off, and the three started a hushed conversation. After a few seconds of whispered chatter, Techno held up his hand, and both Eret and the hooded man froze. 

Suddenly an arrow was shot directly at George's forehead, and George swung to avoid it, hanging on to the branch upside down by his legs. As Technoblade rushed to reload his crossbow, George shot an arrow and then quickly swung up to right himself. 

Technoblade dodged the dart easily, shooting another arrow at George. Dream tackled Technoblade from behind, grabbing the crossbow and throwing it away. 

The hooded stranger and Eret quickly drew their weapons, but the swords were nocked out of their hands by two knives. Bad dropped down from his tree and quickly picked up his knives as well as the other weapons.

While Bad was focused on Eret, the hooded figure jumped on him from behind, snapping his left arm and cutting his face before he was shoved off by Bad.

Eret swung at Bad as he stood up, who dodged Eret's fist. Eret advanced with the sword that he had swiped back while Bad was on the floor, and Bad rolled away quickly and pulled his own sword from the sheath at his back. They started sparring, one sword against another. 

George finished climbing down the tree, running to help Dream. Technoblade had rolled over, and punched Dream in the face. They both pulled out swords, and George took the opportunity to shoot an arrow at the back of Techno's kneecap. Techno faltered, and Dream quickly used the opportunity to disarm him and grab his sword. He pulled something out from under his cloak, and threw the object as far as he could. He mumbled something about potions before he disappeared in a flush of purple particles. 

Dream looked at the spot where Technoblade had been, seething. 

Bad held an unconscious Eret, having knocked him out while he was distracted by Technoblade's quick exit.

Strangely enough, Bad only had a few small forming bruises from his fight with Eret. Bad's real problem was his injured arm, and a cut that ran across his face from his temple to the middle of his chin. Both came from the hooded figure, while Eret had seemed reluctant to hurt him and had aimed to nock Bad out.

Techno had no such hesitation, and Dream had gotten really beat up.

George had been nicked in the side by one of the arrows Technoblade shot, and was bleeding heavily. 

They all stumbled to the castle, walking into the garden where the other waited.

\---

𝐒𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐲

Skeppy chased after fireflies, laughing with Tommy and Tubbo as he tried to cup his hands around them. All three had jars with small holes poked in the caps, filled with the small blinking lightning bugs. 

Skeppy heard a small chuckle, and whipped around to see three figures in the dark.

"BAD!" The prince in blue ran over, throwing his arms around Bad. Bad cried out, causing Skeppy to back away quickly. Skeppy's eyes widened as he looked Bad over, and tears started to cloud his eyes. He turned to Dream and George, who were limping behind Bad.

Dream had cuts of varying deepness and forming bruises nearly everywhere, and was walking with a limp. George seemed unharmed, with the exception if his heavily bleeding side. 

Skeppy's eyes seemed to ignore these injuries, focusing on Bad.

Bad's arm was positioned awkwardly, and based on his reaction to Skeppy's hug, it was broken or shattered. The most worrying thing was the cut on his face, which was incredibly shallow and yet bleeding heavily. Too heavily. The blood had started to turn black, and Bad was looking faint form the blood loss.

Skeppy ran over to Bad, and ripped his sleeve off to tie it around Bad's face. Skeppy then picked Bad up bridal style, making sure to jostle his arm as little as possible.

"We need to get these three to the infirmary, now."

Tommy nodded and picked up George, and Sapnap put his arm under Dream's, helping him walk. Tubbo grabbed their weapons, following after the other men.

\---

𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐨

They got to the infirmary, and the medics ran over. Tubbo sat, head leaned against Tommy's shoulder, and he felt utterly helpless.

They wrapped George's side in bandages, and the small man fell asleep.

They put ointment on Dream's cuts, wrapping the deeper ones. Dream insisted on having some paper and charcoal, arguing that he was fine enough to draw. Eventually the nurses had conceded, and Sapnap ran to get Dream's materials. He now sat, sketching two figures, one with a bow and goggles, and the other with a sword and boar mask.

Bad was the most worrying. His arm had been a clean break, and was set easily. His face didn't stop bleeding until the medics used a potion. He had lost a lot of blood at this point, and was passed out cold. The doctors said he should be fine, but without knowing what the poison in his system was, his recovery was up in the air.

Tubbo had watched Skeppy go through nearly all 5 stages of grief at this point, first shaking his head and arguing with the medics, saying they didn't know anything about poison and Bad would be fine. They said they truly didn't know, but had hope, and Skeppy started screaming at them. 

He yelled that they were terrible, and screamed at Tommy to fire them on the spot. He said he would have them beheaded for incompetence.

Once Skeppy got all the yelling out of his system, he pleaded with the medics to help Bad, insisting that they must be able to do more. Offering them gold and riches for assistance they could not give. Once they had repeated for the hundredth time they had done all they could, Skeppy had started crying.

Thats where we was now, curled up on a chair next to the cot Bad was on, holding his best friend's hand and sobbing.

Tubbo walked over to Tommy, who was talking to Dream about the man's sketches. 

Dream looked over to Tubbo, and then Tommy. "I think you should tell King Wilbur, Tommy. I know this whole thing was because he didn't do anything, but he should know. Just...be wary and keep it light, try and make sure George doesn't loose his job and our kingdoms don't go to war."

Tommy nodded, waving a goodbye to Tubbo as he walked off to his dad's chambers.


	10. Chapter 10

𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐲

Tommy walked up the steps, towards Wilbur's study. He tried to come up with a reasonable explanation to why Dream, George, and Bad were out in the woods, because it wasn't like he could just outright say they were going against Wilbur's wishes, and fishing for information. 

He knocked on the door to Wilbur's study, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly. Wilbur walked out, rubbing the back of his head and looking at Tommy, annoyed. 

Tommy rushed into the office, sitting on the shorter chair in front of the desk and rapping his fingers on the table.

"Wilbur! Something happened, it-"

"I know VERY WELL that 'SOMETHING HAPPENED'. TOMMY PRINCE DREAM IS CURRENTLY ON A BED IN OUR INFIRMARY! GEORGE, YOUR GUARD HAS A GAPING CROSSBOW WOUND IN HIS SIDE. I HAVE NO DOBUT THAT HE WAS TRYING TO CLEAN UP ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR MESSES! TOMMY YOU ARE SO UTTERLY CARELESS."

Tommy shrunk into his chair, all his fidgeting halted. He bit his lip, trying to keep himself composed. He felt the indisputable prickle of tears behind his eyes, and breathed in sharply to keep them from falling.

"You know Bad? Anyone can see how close he and Skeppy are," Wilbur scoffed a bit at this. "Well Bad is sitting down there unconscious, and you can hear Skeppy screaming and sobbing from anywhere in the castle. If Bad died here, at your fault, then Skeppy could damn well start a war. GODDAMN IT TOMMY!" Wilbur slammed his fists on the table.

At this Tommy started crying, but he furiously wiped his eyes and quieted any escaping sniffles, trying to keep composed. Wilbur looked down to him, his mouth curled into a frown.

"C'mon Tommy, don't cry. You are heir to the throne, and God help this kingdom once it falls into your hands."

Tommy sniffled and nodded, wiping away his tears and willing them to stop falling.

"Now Tommy, it's alright," Wilbur patted Tommy's shoulder, crouching down so they were face to face.

Tommy smiled at him, and Wilbur offered a small smile in return. Wilbur stopped crouching, taking his hands from Tommy's shoulders and clasping them behind his back. "I'll be taking your discs for the time being, and if I hear of you stepping a single toe out of line, there will be serious repercussions." Wilbur turned his back to Tommy, his hands still clasped behind his back.

"Now get out."

\---

𝐁𝐚𝐝

Ow.

Bad was pretty sure there were no other words in his vocabulary at the moment, as he felt hazy pain everywhere. Except his arm, there was sharp pain there too.

The pain was weird, like there was fluffy candy floss everywhere, clouding his bloodstream and making it thick with sugar. Except the sugar felt like glass shards, and the candy floss felt like storm clouds. The pain seemed more focused in his head, except focused probably wasn't the right word because the fuzzy pain was worse there, and the pain didn't really seem sharp and focused, more indistinct an undefined. 

The sharpest pain was in his arm, but it didn't hurt like the fuzzy pain. The fuzzy pain hurt a lot worse. It felt like it was in his blood, in his bones. Bad couldn't tell what was him and what was the hazy pain. He felt like he was the pain at this point.

Bad wondered if Skeppy was in pain too. God he hoped not. He wouldn't wish this pain upon his worst enemy, much less the guy he loved.

Loved Platonically, that is. Platonic.

Bad didn't have much to do in this hazy world of pain, so he set to thinking. The problem with thinking was that he couldn't quite remember what had happened recently. 

He remembered planning something, he remembered waking up with Skeppy.

Skeppy had been sleeping with him more recently, constantly needing comfort. He was worried sick about Technoblade, fretting over what could happen to his kingdom while he was gone. Poor Skeppy was such a good Prince, and would be an incredible king, but all the worrying was stressing him out. No one who didn't know him well would really think he was serious, with all his joking. Not that his trolls and pranks weren't a handful, because they sure were, but he was more mature and intelligent then everyone gave him credit for.

And he's cute.

Bad was sure that he would've flushed at that thought if he were fully conscious. Of course, that was just an objective fact, it wasn't Bad's opinion or anything. Definitely not. 

Bad tried to fall asleep, hoping to escape the fuzzy pain. After a while, he dozed off.

\---

𝐒𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐲

Skeppy sipped at his cup of water, trying to stop crying. He remembered Bad saying, 'You can't cry if you're drinking water, it's just a fact of life'

Well Skeppy was crying anyway, so maybe life was just screwing him over. Skeppy's usual strategy when faced with difficult things was just humor, but Bad was a little different. If the light of your life was unconscious due to some unknown poison, with no knowledge of when they would wake up, you would probably cry too.

It was early in the morning, before the sun had risen. Everyone in the room was tired and worried, and Tubbo lay asleep in a chair to Skeppy's left. Tommy had walked in a few hours ago, sitting down next to Tubbo and falling asleep as well. George was asleep in his cot, and Sapnap and Dream were whispering to each other as Dream sketched.

By the time Skeppy finished the water, his tears had stopped. Huh, guess Bad was right about the water thing.

As he went to place the glass on a table, he saw Bad stir. Skeppy's eyes widened, a hopeful smile slipping onto his face.

Bad shifted a bit, reaching across the cot like he was searching for something. It appeared that he didn't find what he was searching for, because Bad frowned a bit, and attempted to sit up before wincing and opening his eyes.

"Skeppy?" Bad's voice was gravelly with sleep and pain, and Skeppy would've blushed over it had he not been focused on the fact that Bad was okay.

Skeppy rushed over, holding Bad's hand and nodding.

"Are you okay Skeppy" The tears were back, but this time they were of relief.

Skeppy shook his head in disbelief, "Only you. I'm fine Bad, how do you feel? Are you alright?"

"I'm okay, I feel kinda achey." Bad blinked, sitting up and wincing, scrunching up his nose as he slowly recalled the events of last night. "Are George and Dream okay? They seemed hurt when we left."

Skeppy fought the urge to face palm, just grinning snd shaking his head as he pulled Bad into a gentle hug, being mindful that he was probably in a lot of pain.

"They're fine. You got cut with a poison knife, you're the most injured."

The medic that was treating Bad tapped Skeppy's shoulder, giving him an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry Your Highness, but I'm gonna have to help him out. If you could back up?"

Skeppy pouted, but did as he was asked. All that mattered was that Bad was okay, they could hug and talk later.


End file.
